Small Kitchen Big Flavors

Nutella Is Evil!!!

I know Nutella has been around for a while now, but I didn’t see the need to try this chocolate and hazelnut spread. Especially when my trusty peanut butter was right there at my fingertips. So familiar and so comforting. Then there was the price, at $7.99 for a 26 oz jar I was definitely not impressed.

Then I was grocery shopping with my Grandma J yesterday and saw a little Nutella & Go snack pack for $1.58 and thought at that price I could afford to see what all the fuss was about. Opening the snack pack I found a blob of dark brown spread and several small bread sticks. So far nothing Impressive here.

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Canning Turkey

Every year Heith is given a turkey at Christmas from his employer. While we appreciate the bird it is way to much food for our little family to eat in a reasonable amount of time. Canning the turkey and broth breaks it down into manageable portion sizes that I can use to make several different dishes.

Recently I spent the afternoon at Mary’s canning three turkeys. When Keaton and I arrived she had already deboned the birds, cooked a portion of the meat, and made the broth. Talk about a great mother-in-law!

There are a few simple yet important steps to canning turkey or any other type of meat. The steps are all the same; what will change is the amount of time and the pressure used to process your meat. These changes are based on your location (altitude) and what you are canning.

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Armenian Nutmeg Cake

The Armenian Nutmeg Cake is fragrant and delicious. The combination of moist cake and the cookie style crust creates a wonderful texture for this dessert and gives my favorite spice the chance to shine on it’s own. I have to admit that I enjoyed the flavor so much that I wanted to eat the whole thing myself, and had to send it to work with my husband just to keep from picking at it all day! This cake is defiantly a crowd pleaser, even the kids will love it. I know mine did!

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Meet Our Newest Little Addition

Aiden James

Our newest little addition, Aiden James made his debut on April 16th at 7:01 A.M. We are so happy that he is finally here!

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Cinnamon Strudel Topped Blueberry Muffins

Our family isn’t huge on breakfast. A yogurt, a piece of fruit and a slice or two of toast usually does it for us. This past weekend I wanted to change things up a little bit and try one of the several new recipes I have in my collection.

Blueberry muffins with a cinnamon strudel topping turned out to be the perfect choice for Sunday morning breakfast. These muffins are not overly sweet, allowing the tart flavor of the blueberry to shine through. The cinnamon strudel topping is where most of the sweetness in this yummy muffin comes from. Everyone loved them, and the only change I would make to this recipe in the future would be to double the cinnamon topping. I will be make these again soon.

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Dutch Crunch Bread

Dutch Crunch, aka Tiger bread, was the challenge recipe for this month and the first I have made for the Daring Bakers. It was a lot of fun participating in a group activity, making a new recipe and expanding my baking horizons. The actual challenge consisted of two parts. First, making the bread or rolls and then using it it make a sandwich.

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Mommy’s Little Boy

Mommy's Little Boy

I’ve nursed him, I’ve cuddled him and held him while he slept. I have watched him grow, sometimes a little at a time and at others by leaps and bounds. Today as he slept and the little one moved inside me I felt a little saddened. My first baby is not a baby any more. As much as I want to keep him that way somehow he managed to become a toddler over night. His smile, adventurous spirit and curiosity gives me the tiniest glimps of the boy he is growing into and the man he will someday be.

Life and the big wide world is beginning to pull him away from me. There are things to do, to learn, to explore beyond the circle of his mommy’s arms. Oh, he still needs his mommy and will for many years to come but life has a funny way of sneaking up on you. And somehow between scraped knees, piles of laundry, and sibling rivalry my little Keaton will grow from toddler to boy into a man. But for today he is asleep in my arms and an afternoon of play and adventure awaits us.

Expanding My Foodie Horizons

We all have what I call the “old reliables”, those go to recipes we have either grown up with or made so many times we could do it in our sleep. They are such a great resource to have! Many times they are our favorite dishes containing not only familiar ingredients but wonderful memories and even a bit of family history. I believe one of the things that makes food so unique is its ability to to transport you to a different time or place in your life with just its smell or taste.

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Early Easter Treat

What a sneaky boy!

Living A Frugal Life

I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom. Heith, having grown up with his mom at home fully supported the idea. We knew that having children and living on a single income in today’s economy would not be easy. So to make every dollar go further we have adopted several frugal living strategies.

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